The present invention relates to humidifiers and more specifically to flow-through humidifiers typically installed in a by-pass configuration into a house furnace air duct supply, or the like.
Flow-through type humidifiers are widely used in conjunction with air heating systems. The humidifier housing is installed against a hot air duct supply. Hot air flows from an opening in the duct supply into the humidifier housing to go through a humidifier vertical pad and finally return to the return duct via a by-pass piping connected to the humidifier housing. In order to keep the pad humid, water is supplied to a diffuser located above the pad that uniformly distribute the water along the pad. The water then flows down the pad and any excess that is not evaporated into the flowing air is collected at the bottom of the pad into a drain.
Typically, the flow of water is too large thereby causing a significant amount of wasted water. To reduce the amount of wasted, some humidifiers include a water flow limiting device consisting of an iris with a small access hole. The access hole is so small that it can be easily obstructed, blocking any water flow. Alternatively, a small filter may be introduced to eliminate these possible obstructions. In this case, the filter, usually not easily accessible, requires yearly maintenance, which is cumbersome for most of the people. Furthermore, the low pressure and the small water flow rate downstream of the valve require either an almost perfect leveling of the water diffuser or a sophisticated diffuser design to ensure a uniform water distribution over the whole pad, otherwise a small portion of the pad is humidified thereby reducing the efficiency of the humidifier.
Furthermore, to avoid water waste when no air is flowing through the humidifier, some other humidifiers include a water valve interlock. The valve interlock is a current sensing relay detecting current going through the common wire lead of the furnace blower motor. With the valve interlock, the system checks that the ventilation is working and assumes that the furnace is in operation, which may not be always the case. This system may also waste water if the air going through the humidifier is too cold since relatively hot air is required for the water to evaporate.
It is a first object of the present invention to provide a humidifier that obviates the above-mentioned disadvantages.
It is a further object to provide a humidifier that includes a temperature sensor device used to control the supply of water depending on the temperature of the flowing air and/or air duct confirming that the furnace is in operation.
It is another object to provide a humidifier that includes an electronic circuit controller that pulses the opening of a solenoid valve to control the amount of water going to the pad for evaporation.
It is a further object to provide a humidifier that includes a symmetrical frame assembly adapted to be installed either upright or in an upside down orientation depending on the desired left or right hand side position of the air outlet opening.
The present invention provides a flow-through humidifier device comprising:
a frame assembly for securing onto an air supply duct and having three side walls, a top and a bottom walls and a front cover wall, a first and a second of said side walls having an air inlet opening and an air outlet opening respectively;
an evaporator assembly including a pad member adapted to be vertically disposed between and held by said top and bottom walls and being generally adjacent to said air inlet opening to substantially cover the same, a water supply member removably mounted to said top wall for supplying water to said pad member, and a water drain member mounted to said bottom wall to collect any excess of water from said pad member;
said water supply member including a valve member controlled by an air temperature controller, said air temperature controller includes an electronic circuit electrically connected to a temperature sensor and timely pulses a solenoid valve of said valve member to allow for a specific amount of water to intermittently humidify said pad member for constant time intervals when the sensed temperature of said air supply duct is higher than a pre-determined set temperature, thereby humidifying hot air flowing through said pad member of said humidifier device.
Preferably, the first side wall is a back wall adapted to be secured onto said air supply duct.
Preferably, the air temperature controller is further connected to a humidity sensor, said air temperature controller timely pulsing said solenoid valve to allow said water to intermittently reach said pad member when both said temperature of said air supply duct is higher than said pre-determined set temperature and said humidity sensor detects a humidity level that is below a pre-set humidity comfort level.
Preferable the water supply member further includes a water diffuser that uniformly distributes said water over said pad member.
Preferably, the water drain member includes a pan over which said pad member is located to collect said excess of water dripping therefrom and a drain outlet to drain out said excess of water from humidifier device.
Preferably, the pan and said drain outlet are integral to said bottom wall.
Preferably, the top and bottom walls of said frame assembly are a mirror image of each other such that said humidifier device can be mounted onto said air duct supply in an upside down orientation with said water supply member removably mounted to said bottom wall to supply water to said pad member, and said water drain member mounted to said top wall to collect any excess of water from said pad member, thereby allowing for said air outlet opening to be effectively oriented in an opposite direction as if it would have been on the other of said two side walls.
Preferably, the frame assembly is made out of an essentially flat main piece including said back, top, bottom and side walls, said main piece being foldable at interfaces between adjacent walls and releasably locked in folded position using fastening devices, and a cover piece being said cover wall and adapted to be removably fastened over said folded main piece to close said frame assembly.
Preferably, the frame assembly is made out of molded thermoplastic material.
Preferably, the air outlet opening includes an externally protruding collar adapted to receive a by-pass return pipe.
Preferably, the humidifier device further includes a deodoriser body releasably secured inside said frame assembly in proximity to said air outlet opening.